Binding energies of nuclei and their density distributions in a nonlocal extended Thomas-Fermi approximation

Basic properties of the ground states of spherical nuclei are investigated in a nonlocal extended Thomas-Fermi approximation under the assumption of Skyrme forces. It is shown that, for nuclei occurring near the β-stability line, the binding energies, the root-mean-square radii, and the density distributions found on this basis agree well with experimental data. Binding energies, root-mean-square radii, and density distributions are also calculated for the ground states of nuclei lying far off the β-stability line and for superheavy elements. For the proton, the neutron, and the total particle density, the thickness of the diffuse layer is investigated as a function of the number of neutrons in tin isotopes.